The Hoard
by jack63kids
Summary: Harry has just celebrated his birthday with friends at Grimmauld Place and is having a little lie-in when it all kicks off again ...
1. Part 1: Kidnapped

Harry woke to find Ginny standing over him. "Come to bed ..." he said in his best, seductive voice.

"You're not in bed, you're in the bath, Harry," she said mysteriously. Now why would she be saying that? Odd person, Harry thought, closing his eyes again.

Now she mentioned it though, his bed was rather cold and there was something hard and angular pushing into the back of his head. Harry blinked blearily and wondered what had happened at his birthday party that might have led to a belief that the bath would be a good place to sleep and then closed his eyes again from the effort.

"Sorry Harry, you have to wake up." Ginny was so beautiful when she was determined and here she was leaning over him ... so enticing ... and Harry was about to put his arms around her waist ... but she was suddenly out of reach, and then she was pulling at the legs of his jeans until he slid down into the bath, his head clunking on the enameled bottom. "Ouch!" _And now what's she doing ... don't touch those taps!_ ... and then cold water in his face, his eyes, up his nose ... "What did you do that for?"- then Harry noticed Ron and Hermione behind Ginny, both looking expectant.

"Kingsley needs to speak to you urgently, mate," said Ron.

And then Hermione's face appeared hovering over him. "Harry, I'm going to try something ... I'd _not_ do this if it wasn't so important. I'm sorry, it's going to hurt, quite a bit if the book isn't exaggerating ... I need your permission, Harry." Harry nodded. He trusted Hermione. _Hermione was so clever. She was such a good friend._ Harry loved Hermione ... She twirled her wand in a complicated spiral over this stomach, muttering something that sounded a little like a chemical equation... She wouldn't do something that would really hurt him and ... it was quite pleasant really.

"Like little bubbles, just like drinking lemonade when the bubbles go up your no ... nooooo! Hermione! Stop it, stop it right now, that's really ... arrghh! Oh please ... oh, it's stopped. Ok, then. Where's Kingsley?" he asked, ready to disapparate at a word from Hermione, but instead she led the way downstairs.

Once in the living room, Harry took charge. "Right you two," he said glaring at Hermione and Ginny - "Out! Auror business."

Kingsley's disembodied head spoke from the fireplace: "No Harry, I want them all to hear this." He turned his head slightly to take in Harry's friends, who were standing expectantly behind him, ready to jump to his aid at the slightest hint of trouble. "As long as you all agree to abide by the rules", he continued, "... and, if you agree to come along, then you can't tell anyone outside this room - well that room and here - what you have been asked to do and where you are going."

"What about the oath?" Harry said mostly, he realised, to remind Kingsley that these weren't trained aurors he was recruiting so casually.

"What oath? - Oh yeah, of course, I'll leave that to you Harry, no time for the full protocol now ...

"We've cornered two more Death Eaters and need to flush them out. Currently they've made their HQ in Voldemort's cave, where you found the fake horcrux, Harry. We know they are currently out for the day and won't be back until around four this afternoon -"

Hermione interrupted ... "How do you know that Kingsley? Surely they're not following any predictable patterns of behaviour and -"

Kingsley said, "Intelligence," mysteriously.

"But-"

"Can't reveal sources ... need to know basis. You agree to follow the temporary protocol arrangement?" Hermione nodded, still looking rebellious, but Kingsley seemed oblivious and replied, "Good, let's get down to tactics."

Harry knew that Hermione was relentless when she had an issue and was surprised that she gave up on this so readily. Kingsley could certainly have that effect.

"You need to go in there and check the island first, Harry. We have reason to believe that they are storing some weapon or secret there. The rest of you need to keep guard by where the boat is tied up until Harry returns. Then you all need to set a trap for them when they get there. Plenty of time to sort that on Harry's return; it's barely half past seven now, so you've got all morning and half the afternoon to make all the standard checks and get ready your response. If they do come back early, Dawlish and Savage will be on guard outside the cave entrance to waylay them."

* * *

When they arrived at the cave, and Harry had let them all in with the usual spells and tokens, all was quiet. He still wasn't best pleased to be taking his friends to the place where he'd seen Dumbledore at his most vulnerable. Dumbledore had seemed so invincible and in control before that day. He'd never seen him weak or in pain before he'd taken the potion and the place brought back some really unpleasant memories for Harry.

He'd been in the face of danger with Hermione and Ron often enough before to know that his concern for them wasn't going to effect his performance; but not with Ginny, not like this, not since they had got back together. He wasn't sure whether he'd be able to keep a clear head if she were threatened and that might put them all in danger. Harry hadn't been anticipating any trouble but he realised that he'd still been tense. Putting his girlfriend at risk wasn't his idea of a fun date and this hadn't been what he'd planned for that morning.

Harry had to explain to Ginny why none of the others were able to go with him, she obviously wasn't thrilled that her boyfriend was at risk either, he'd not heard her voice that shrill for a long while, if ever. "That's just what they want, those Death Eaters, Harry, to separate you from the rest of us. Why's it always you who takes the risks?" She'd wrinkled up her forehead and there was a telltale line between her eyebrow that meant she was close to boiling point. "I'm not happy about this in the slightest."

Harry called Kreacher, in case he wasn't able to leave the island and the others needed the boat to be brought back and that seemed to satisfy her to an extent. He explained what needed to be done to the willing House Elf and they set off together towards the island.

The lake was eerie as ever. Harry didn't see any Inferi, but then nothing disturbed the surface of the blackness before them and they didn't rise unless there was some sign of the living disturbing their perpetual rest.

The landing was uneventful and Harry strolled over to the basin that the horcrux had been concealed in, wand at the ready in case of booby traps, and then there was a shout, '_Avada Kadavra!_' and a bang just in front of Harry's shoulder as the spell glanced off the basin. Harry sprang forward shouting a stunning spell and then he heard a small cry and a splashing sound. No one visible - he didn't even see the Inferi rise to drag the body under. He'd been too slow and couldn't save whoever it was from a nasty death at the bottom of that stagnant lake. Harry felt responsible, despite the fact that they had been aiming to kill him a moment before they met a nasty, watery end.

And then he heard furious fighting on the other side of the lake where his friends were waiting. Harry sent Kreacher back to defend them and hurriedly got back into the boat - the return trip was tortuously slow, he imagined the scene with three dead bodies - the bodies of his closest friends and his own girlfriend, all of whom he was responsible for ... Then he saw the stricken faces of Ron and Hermione illuminated by Hermione's wand tip - Ron looking particularly pale in the poor light in the cave. No sign of Ginny and he feared the worst.

Then Hermione spoke in a shocked tone, "Harry, they took Ginny!"

Harry felt furious with Ron. And he heard shouting and realised it was his own voice, telling Ron how he'd let him down and what had he been thinking. "What were you thinking, Ron! What kind of an auror would mess up this bad - you've let us all down."

Ron looked more than uncomfortable at his words. "She's my sister, Harry. Do you think if I could have stopped them I wouldn't have? They came out of nowhere."

"There were seven of them," Hermione said visible shaking. "Binding spell Harry, we couldn't cast any spells once those were in place. Very advanced magic. Once they'd caught us unawares we didn't stand a chance." If Harry had had time to think it through and there wasn't so much at stake then he'd have agreed with Hermione. Binding spells are indeed very advanced magic and more likely to rebound on the person casting them as they are unable to shield themselves from any spells until the Bind is in place. When they work as they are designed then no one but the person casting them is able to cast any spells in the vicinity. They look like thin wispy threads that entwine themselves around the wand and the wrist of the witch or wizard that they are binding. No wonder his friends hadn't been able to defend themselves effectively. He found he was still angry though, not least because he'd not been there and was powerless to do anything now that she'd gone.

"Why didn't you follow protocol, Ron? Guard all the main exits and entrances and anywhere they could be hiding?" Harry said lamely.

"I did Harry. I was guarding the way we came in. Kingsley said they were outside and if they did come back and got passed Dawlish and Savage ... well I thought it better they got me first if I couldn't stop them." Ron hesitated. There was something that he was ashamed of anyway and didn't want to tell Harry, but this wasn't the time to discuss that.

"Hermione was guarding the way you went and Ginny ... Ginny was facing into the cave, where it was least likely an attack would come. She got distracted when we heard fighting coming from where you were, mate. And then they came from out of the darkness."

"We should have checked down the lakeside before you got into the boat ..." so that was it, Ron thought it was Harry's fault. Well that made two of them. So did Harry. He should never have left Ginny for a moment in that hellhole. If the love of his life wasn't going to be in his life again, then he'd no one to blame but himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ginny was being dragged towards the cliff edge by her captors. Each was masked and dressed in long robes, robes too large for the people wearing them.

"You're a bit short for Death Eaters, aren't you?" she said calmly, edging a little further from the reach of the one who had tight hold of her sleeve. A quick side step and then a twist and she'd be able to get free enough to make a run for it, though this near to the edge of the cliff, anything might happen. At least she'd stand more chance than when they got close enough to the edge to push her over. But then why hadn't they finished her off magically before now? They certainly had the upper hand from when they first clashed wands in the cave. Their combined magic was more than a match for her, now wandless, but not physically given how small her captors were and they seemed to have given up using magic for the time being.

"You House Elves or something?" she asked as brightly as she could manage in the circumstance.

There was a derisive snort in the darkness and one of them said, "Never you mind that. You concentrate on climbing, 'cos we're going down!"

They didn't get any closer to the cliff edge and Ginny didn't find a chance to put her half-baked plan into operation. Actually, after the first short descent down a fissure in the rock face, that she'd not noticed previously, they didn't go down much further. She found herself feeling her way along ledges and guessing where to out her feet in the increasing darkness. Her seven assailants were adapt climbers and she found she needed some help to find the hand holds and purchase for her feet that they seemed to find so easily and she assumed they'd taken this route many times before. Their robes, which should have been a hinderance, didn't seem to bother any of them once hitched into belts and waist bands.

And then they were plunging into a second, much smaller cave, her eyes not adjusting to the darkness again before they were crawling upwards towards a small circle of light that was getting bigger and bigger as they rose and then was directly above them. She wondered what was going to happen next when she found her hands being placed on cold metal rungs some way above her head. Someone was on the ladder a short way above her and moving slowly away from her and someone below her had taken her foot in their hands and was boosting her upwards. The ladder went down about level with her knees, if the rung she'd been guided to was the bottom one. There wasn't enough light to see how the ladder was attached to the walls, if at all, and she wondered if it was held up by magical means.

It was a long climb going up and Ginny was about to stop for a breather again when she realised that the air quality was quite different here, fresher, and she felt a breeze on her face. She glanced upwards to see the hands of two people ahead of her, were reaching down for her to grasp and then she was being hauled upwards and out of the tunnel.

They were standing in a poorly lit, circular room, not even half as wide as her room at the Burrow with a large pillar in the middle. There wouldn't be room for all the people coming up to stand in the limited floorspace and she wasn't surprised when they started to walk again. All they did, however, was to walk around the other side of the pillar to where the others coming in would be standing - only they weren't there when they came around the other side. When she heard their voices below them, she guessed that they were all moving upwards. She'd spent enough time in spiral staircases at Hogwarts to know that something magical was responsible for the physical impossibility of this.

It wasn't long before they were all standing in a large wooden room which reminded Ginny of the treehouse that Charlie and her father had built for her and Ron one summer in the woods by their home. And that's just what it turned out to be. A large treehouse with a balcony which went all round the outside and what could be dozens of rooms in the interior, judging by all the doors she saw leading off from the hallway.

Ginny had a strong feeling that she was about to find out who her abductors were and she wasn't sure whether the news would be welcome or not.


	2. Part 2: The Hoard

_**Dedicated to yukikiralacus and KariMaud who were out there when I thought no one was listening ... thank you my friends.**_

* * *

Ginny wasn't sure how long it had taken her to persuade them all to remove their masks, but one was still holding out, a girl she thought, though she'd only heard a brief, hushed whisper, so Ginny couldn't be absolutely sure. It seemed pointless now as it was obvious they were all very young witches and wizards and three House Elves of indeterminate age. Ginny wondered if the witches and wizards had been too young to go to Hogwarts when the War had started and were Muggle Borns and Half-Bloods who were being hunted down and punished for their blood status. Most of them looked old enough to be at Hogwarts, but some were younger.

Some smaller children came from out of other rooms and joined them. They were roughly half and half, girls and boys, about a dozen or so of them altogether. They'd all crowded round Ginny, sitting on the floor as close to her as they were able. And then they told their strange and disjointed tale, each of them chiming in to finish a sentence started by another and it took awhile before it starting making much sense.

"Lucrezia has premonitions."

"She knew that you would be able to help us, but we couldn't trust ... "

"We don't know who the traitor is, so we called you somewhere we knew we could get you here ..."

'_The redheaded woman, loved by the Chosen One, will rise up and vanquish the traitor allowing the Hoard to return to where they belong_.'

"We kinda reckon that that's us being able to go Hogwarts finally, when you sort out the traitor."

"That's us, we're the Hoard!"

"They called us a Hoard of Mudbloods and Blood Traitors and it stuck."

"Some of us should be there already, we're not all that young. But we can't until you do something about the traitor and ..."

"We're just not sure if it's a traitor at Hogwarts that's stopping us going there or someone in the Ministry, or anyone really who'd hurt us or stop us doing what we want."

**ENDING VERSION ONE: ****_Originally planned as a two alternative versions story, but lost impetus with lack of reviews._**

* * *

Ginny stood on the balcony looking out over the forest, wondering what Harry was doing and just how worried he was about her. And then Lucretia, the one who'd left on her mask longest, and kept herself separate, slid up to Ginny and leant in conspiratorially.

"It's me. I'm the traitor," she said with a sigh. "I lied to them about the prophesy. There's nothing stopping them all going to Hogwarts. But I can't go. I can't go, as they'd never speak to me again."

"Why?" asked Ginny, matching Lucretia's hushed tone.

"Because I'll be in Slytherin," she confided. "And none of them lot will be. They'll all be in Gryfffindor or Ravenclaw or maybe even Hufflepuff and none of them will want to know me. None of them will want anyone else to ever know they knew me."

"My boyfriend says that the bravest man he ever knew was in Slytherin," said Ginny. "And when this hero grew up and became a teacher he was Head of the House of Slytherin. This man died avenging the death of a friend who was a Griffindor and in doing so protected all of us and helped to rid the world of Lord Voldemort. Not just people he knew and liked. Some he knew and didn't like and others he had never met. And he died a very nasty death and knew that it was likely that would be the case when he signed up to do so. And I'd gladly tell all your friends that and they'll be proud to know someone from the same house as this man and so will I, and so will Harry Potter."

Lucretia's eyes grew round and, for the first time, she looked right at Ginny. Ginny though how pretty she was when she wasn't looking at the floor and scowling, even with the jet black dyed hair and all the facial piercings.

Ginny called the others back into the room. "My future husband, Harry Potter, has told me this story," she said grandly, setting the scene. "I'm telling you all now as it's going to shape the kind of people you're going to be and what happens in Hogwarts from now on and the whole of wizarding society." And then she told the sad tale of a boy wizard who fell in love with a witch and had his heart broken. That he felt so responsible for her death that he finally died himself trying to make up for what he had done. And she ended the tale by saying, "And the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived, says this man, Professor Severus Snape, was the bravest man he has ever known."

There was a hushed silence in the room when she finished and Ginny looked around to see what reaction her words had had. Several of the children were crying and hugging each other and two of the very smallest children were holding onto Lucretia, one with his head on her lap and the other looking up into Lucretia's face saying earnestly, "I hope that _I'm_ in Slytherin." Lucretia had a slightly bemused look on her face, but she was smiling.

And then Ginny saw Harry smiling at her from just inside the room. His sudden appearance had a profound effect on the gathering. Some of the little kids were looking up at him shyly, while the Six were looking rather uncomfortable and glancing over at Ginny to see, presumably, what she was going to say about them. Hermione and Ron were hanging back in the doorway, but Ron was looking rather relieved and he'd slipped his hand into Hermione's at some point, so he wasn't about to hex anyone in defense of his sister.

Ginny didn't need to persuade the three of them that she didn't need rescuing, but she did go through the reasons for her abduction. Lucretia bravely faced up to her responsibilities and explained her part in it all, all over again. Hermione had some reassuring words about how things had changed in Hogwarts and how that now, the Houses weren't as separated as they had been previously. Harry reiterated what Ginny had said about Severus Snape, adding that Severus had been Harry's mother's best friend before she came to Hogwarts and for some time after and it had been her that he had loved and avenged when he infiltrated the Death Eaters.

Ron, by then, was enthusiastically telling several of the smaller kids about how the Sorting Hat worked out who went into which House. Ginny though she heard a couple of George and Fred's wilder theories creeping in and gave him a withering look, which he ignored, until Hermione raised an eyebrow, whereupon Ron started back-peddling at speed, saying it was all hocus pocus.

* * *

For the second time, Ginny slipped out onto the balcony, this time motioning for Harry to follow her. The kids were rather in awe of Harry and hung back, looking to see if the couple wanted anyone with them. When it was obvious they wanted to be alone, all attention fell to Ron, who was already surrounded with a band of loyal followers and to Hermione, who was checking that everyone was well and had started gleaning a list of particulars for those prepared to start sharing their personal details and anything they were prepared to say about their immediate family. She was doing much better than she'd predicted and found that many of the kids wanted to tell their stories very much to an interested adult. She felt that some, at least, stood a good chance of finding living family who would be prepared to take them in.

"So," said Ginny experimentally.

"So," Harry mirrored.

"Harry I'm so sorry. You must be so disappointed in me."

Harry looked confused and didn't know what to say, but he didn't have long to wait for Ginny to fill in the gaps.

"I let my guard slip. Worse than that, I didn't care about watching our backs. All I wanted was to find out what was happening with you. Ron kept shouting to keep our positions and cover us against attack. I ignored him - I know it was wrong, but I thought there were more important things ..."

Harry felt bad about giving Ron such a bad time. No wonder Ron had been so secretive, there would be no way he'd rat out his sister like that with Harry. Ginny was looking really worried when he looked up and he realised that he'd been scowling. He smiled and Ginny smiled back.

Then Harry took a chance, "Your future husband, eh? That's a bit presumptuous!"

Ginny wrinkled her nose. "Some things are worth sticking your nose out for," she said thoughtfully. "Anyway, if I wait for you to ask, one of us will be past our prime."

"Was that a proposal?" he asked, more interested in the answer than his tone might indicate.

Ginny was looking amused. "What would you say if it were?"

"I'd say that's _definitely_ a bit presumptuous and you might have waited until I got on one knee," said Harry gently taking hold of her hand and looking progressively nervous. As much as Ginny had not been expecting this, what he said next was even less predictable. "Kreacher?" And with a loud pop Kreacher appeared and Harry whispered something into the House Elf's ear who, beaming, disapparated away again. Before Ginny had a chance to interrogate Harry, Kreacher reappeared as suddenly as he'd gone, adeptly passing Harry something that Ginny was unable to see.

Harry patted Kreacher on the shoulder before he could disappear again and asked him to wait in the other room with Ron, Hermione and the children and that they'd be in in a moment.

The second they were alone again, Harry dropped onto one knee and held out a small box to Ginny. If the world hadn't stopped revolving and time wasn't standing still, Ginny was sure she wouldn't have heard what he said next, but as time _had_ stood still she could just process what was happening.

"Ginny, I love you more than words can say, more than anything in the world I'd like you to be my wife ..."

"Oh Harry, you got a ring ..." Ginny sounded choked and Harry wondered if he'd got it all horribly wrong.

"If it's not ok, we can exchange it, I should have listened to Hermione and let you chose. But when I saw this one and the colour of the stones was ...

"- exactly the same as your eyes -"

"- exactly the same as my eyes -" they finished together.

"Harry it's perfect, it's just that I'd not known ... I'd not thought ... Well, I thought it was pretty much understood between us that some day ... I just didn't think quite yet ..."

"We can wait. As long as you want. Really long engagement ... and even after that I'd not expect you to start having my children for a couple of months at least ... as long as you don't expect to leave getting going for too long. After all, fifteen kids can take it out of you and you need a few breaks between pregnancies ..." Harry's expression was so earnest that Ginny wasn't quite sure how serious he was being, after all they'd never mentioned starting a family before and she had no idea how many kids he might think was a good idea. And then she spotted the twinkle and punched him playfully in the shoulder.

"You've not answered," he said gravely.

"Oh Harry, well, yes, obviously, yes!" They were still kissing when the couple became of the sudden wave of sound from the other room. The Hoard was cheering and Harry could hear Ron whoop with delight, so he pushed the door open to find every eye in the room on the pair of them. And Ron, Hermione and Kreacher in front offering their congratulations and hugging both of them in turn.

"You've not been around here long enough to realise", said Hermione when she embraced Harry, "but the walls here are paper thin."


	3. Beginnings and Endings

It was later that evening that they got the full story, or as much as the Hoard were willing to share at that point anyway. There was some really powerful magic going on at the Lair, which was what they called their treetop home and much of it was being performed by the three adult House Elves.

The House Elves, who mostly had worked for families of members of the Hoard or their neighbours, were responsible for the protective charms and for the projection and transference spells. They had managed to get around underage spell casting by fooling the wands, into believing that the previous owners had cast the spells. The Trace was then tricked that they were being used by someone of Age and so there was no alarm that underage magic was taking place.

"It's ingenious really. Blufeld here does this incredible thing, like rerouting a computer signal around a number of ISPs, so they can't be traced. Bounces the signal off someone else's ISP and Bob's your uncle. Works a right treat."

Blufeld, a portly House Elf, looked pleased but was quick to contradict his young friend. "All Master Will's idea, got it from computer technology apparently. Very clever. Much easier to implement than to work out the possibility."

"Anyhow, whichever of these geniuses is responsible it really does work a treat. Never got caught out once. No one ever realised that any spells we were casting were coming form underage witches and wizards and that no one of age was present. We had a couple of nasty incidences when we didn't realise that Voldemort's name was Taboo. Wondered how they found us until we heard the Potter Watch warning."

"So how did you get away when they heard you? Did anyone get caught who's not here now?" Hermione looked stricken, and then suddenly relieved to hear their response.

"When you've got House Elf Protectors on your side, you can move pretty darn quick. They have a way of disapparating that can't be traced and they can take a whole group of us along all together as long as we're touching each other and they never have unwanted passengers, even if the intruders are physically holding onto any of us."

"We never go outside without one of our Protectors. The Lair is completely safe too, which is possibly why it took us so long to work out how they were finding us in the outside world. We talked about Voldemort as much as we wanted in here. Nothing could be heard outside, because of HES, the House Elf Shield."

The House Elf Shield was incredibly powerful. No wizarding magic could penetrate it. The Lair was unplottable and had all the spells that Hermione had cast on around any of the bases that she, Ron and Harry had used when they were on the run. But it was stronger and more powerful than anything that she would be able to manage, as advanced as her spell making had become over the previous years when they were in need. Harry noticed how intently she was listening and the look of energetic approval and wondered whether a resurgence of something like SPEW was in the offing.

Harry'd sat all the time while listening, holding Ginny's hand, stroking the back of her fingers with his thumb. Neither of them were looking at the other, but he knew she was as constantly aware of their closeness as he was. It was important for them to be there to hear what the Hoard had to say, but he knew that they needed to speak to Ginny's parents at the first possible moment they could get away. And then he'd like some time alone with her. Just to gaze into her eyes and let her know how happy she made him, especially since saying she'd marry him one day.

There was one thing that he'd needed to know before he could contemplate leaving and that's how they'd got Kingsley to lead them all into a trap. Ron was already asking, but not in the way Harry thought. "So how did you manage to get hold of a supply of Polyjuice potion, or have you been planning this for months?" he asked.

"Already had some brewed, or how else would we know so much of what's going on?" The girl's eyes glinted mischievously and Harry wondered if all the conversations he'd had recently were with who he'd thought at the time - "We've a library of people we might want to impersonate, mostly from hair samples, in all those glass phials on the shelves up there. We've four for each of you, just in case ..." - and whether some of those might have been his best friends.

"And we have been planning this for a while, but not long enough to make a brew especially. We learnt how to do it after hearing of how you made some when you were first at Hogwarts. We figured if you could do it following the instructions and without any teachers supervising, that it must be possible."

"Lara's a dap hand with potions. She mixes most of our medicines and the Snitch managed to pinch Harry's potions text book and get a copy and return it without anyone knowing."

The Snitch smirked impishly. Harry thought he looked no older than about seven and he had one of the dirtiest faces that Harry had seen since he'd first travelled by flue all those years ago.

"We'd heard about the Half Blood Prince and Lara wanted to hear what he had to say. She's added a few of her own since. Stirring three quarters way round the cauldron and half way back three times before carrying out the rest of the instructions does the trick when you don't have the best ingredients apparently."

Harry realised that the tiny girl with the bright red hair and now a bright red face, must be Lara. He smiled over at her approvingly and was surprised to learn that there was still at least one further shade of red that she was able to turn.

So that explained how they'd impersonated Kingsley but not how they had been able to access the flue network. Further enquiries on that one led to blank stares and a swift change of subject. They were endearingly open and then suddenly they closed ranks and clammed up entirely.

The fight on the island was one secret they were prepared to share, however. "Cool eh!" Julio boasted. "My step-dad was a special effects dude on Hollywood blockbusters. He brought some of the explosives and miniature microphones and recorders home trying to impress me and my brothers - the jerk!" Julio looked disdainful. "We showed him. Set half the charges off when he was asleep on the sofa, drunk as a skunk as usual, and recorded him swearing and trying to hit us and then played it back over the whole house when Mum got in ... Got rid of his sorry arse." He chuckled. "Kept the stuff he brought home though, didn't know it would come in so useful."

Julio had kept everything he could get his hands on when his step father left. He and Trevellyan had managed to rig up a recording of the spell being cast to coincide with the charge going off on the basin, a little devise they called a squib, which made Harry smile. The recording playing the scream and splash had been the easy part and they'd given Harry no time to check out what had happened or find the microphones by orchestrating the attack on his friends immediately after.

Harry was just wondering how to organise their departure when Ginny spoke for both of them. "Harry and I have a few people we need to speak to - obviously our news isn't the most important thing to have happened today, but if we don't tell my parents before the sun goes down, there will be be hell to pay. We also need to talk to the real Kingsley Shacklebolt as soon as possible to talk about arrangements for all of you."

There was an uncomfortable silence and Harry wondered if the kids were also holding their breath, to see where this was going.

"I think that, though you're obviously well cared for by Blufeld and a wonderful team of House Elves, there needs to be some official stamp of approval and your living relations need to be informed where possible. Most of you will be going to Hogwarts, so it's just the holidays we need to be thinking about really for many of you. What we don't want to happen is for you to have the choice taken away from you, so you need to be thinking of what the plan is. What you all really want, before we speak to anyone official."

"Do you want to stay together here during holidays, stay at Hogwarts, go live with any family you know of, or go to new wizarding families who are able to to foster children?" Hermione added.

"I'm pretty sure that, the younger ones can stay at the Burrow, where I grew up, in term time at least," Ginny continued. "Most of us have left and my parents are finding it rather quiet and empty. Plenty of land too for building and Mum shan't object to sharing her kitchen with a team of highly efficient and competent house elves."

"Anyway, there are choices and you need to think about what to do now, before a bunch of well meaning adults come barging in. We'll all support you as long as what you want is reasonable. Tell Ron and Hermione and we'll be back by morning to discuss what to do next. I think we can delay alerting any authorities at least until then."

Harry noticed that Hermione had reached for her notes again and was looking round expectantly at the Hoard, ready to start chairing the next stage of the debate.

Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes to another chorus of congratulations and hugs all round. "Thanks for going first", Ron hissed in his ear, "given me a great example of how not to do it, for when I make my move on Hermione." Harry smiled, he'd love to be a fly on the wall when that happened. He was fairly certainly that Ron would come up with his own list of minor misdemeanours when it came to proposing, but he was equally confident of the response from Hermione.

* * *

Molly and Arthur were delighted to hear their news. Not as surprised as you might have supposed but then Harry thought that might have been as he'd asked Arthur's permission just before the birthday party when he had been planning to ask her but had had a little too much Dutch courage to manage it before events had overtaken his good intensions.

He wasn't disappointed with the way that things turned out though. He was glad that his best friends and Kreacher had been there and that they had celebrated with their new friends, rather than a bunch of people getting drunk round at Grimmauld Place. There would be time to do it properly with Neville, Luna and the rest of the old DA present.

Arthur broke out a bottle of his homemade elderflower champagne, one of few bottles that hadn't exploded and left huge shards of glass on the inside of the kitchen cupboard they had been stored in. It was pretty good stuff. It was all perfect and Harry was thrilled that he'd happen to fall in love with a member of this peculiar and wonderful family.

Molly said again, "We're both so pleased that everything has worked out between the two of you after all the difficulties of the previous years. I know it's not been easy given all the circumstances, but sometimes adversity can bring you closer together and make you stronger," she added, looking tenderly over at her husband. Harry remembered her once saying about their romance leading to marriage in difficult times and smiled at how history seemed to repeat itself in the next generation.

"Arthur and I will step back and let you decide for yourselves when and where and how big a do you want to have." Harry suppressed a smirk when she glared at Arthur in such a way to suggest that his deepest desire would be to interfere in the arrangements as much as possible. He wondered whether Molly would be able to stick to her own stipulations, but realised that he really didn't mind at all either way. If she wanted to organise him, then that was fine, as long as he was marrying her daughter, nothing much else mattered.

They gave a quick explanation of what they had discovered that day and Arthur, being one of the more reasonable older adults Harry knew, advised leaving it until a full discussion was completed before making any official reports. Arthur offered to accompany whichever of them wanted to approach the Ministry when the time came. He didn't see any problem with any of the school aged children returning to a home where they were so well cared for by House Elves, unless their natural family wanted them to come and live with them, or if any of their parents were found to be alive and able to care for them.

Ginny had picked up that at least one of the younger children, the only one they knew for sure was Pure Blood, was the son of someone who was currently in Azkaban for aiding and abetting the Death Eaters and working as a Snatcher on occasion. That was how he came in contact with the Hoard and joined them, in disgust at his father's actions. The story made Harry think of Sirius who'd tried to distance himself from his own family and Regulus who had changed sides when he saw what was really going on and he determined that he would help this boy.

Some of them they knew for sure had been orphaned, but it was possible that others didn't know that their parents had survived and he hoped for at least a few happy reunions. Others were sure to have aunts, uncles, cousins or older siblings maybe given how close knit most wizarding families were.

Molly was thrilled with the idea that some of the children at least might come to live at the Burrow full time or just for holidays. "Of course they can come and stay here and bring as many House Elves as they like. A house doesn't feel like a home without some coming and going." She looked wistful once again.

Arthur didn't look as bothered as Harry feared he might either. He smiled indulgently at his wife's enthusiasm. "It would be lovely for the house to be noisy again. It just isn't the same now all our lot are moving on," he said.

Harry and Ginny persuaded Molly that the children were all very well cared for and had more than enough food and clothing. She managed to get them to take a couple of bags of homemade biscuits, a giant cake that she said she'd baked that morning 'just in case' and a big box load of warm clothes, toys and books with them when they finally left, late that night.

Harry grabbed Ginny's hand when they were out in the yard and he hurried her out of hearing of the Burrow and round past the chicken sheds before he spoke. "Now I've got you alone, I can't think of a word to say," he said grinning, "Just, how much I love you and how happy you make me. And thank you for saying yes, that could have been really embarrassing."

Ginny grinned back and said simply, "Who needs words, Harry." Before leaning forward and kissing him passionately, digging the pads of her fingers into his back. Harry drew his arm around her waist and pulled her hard towards him, returning her kiss with equal passion.

* * *

It was some minutes before Harry and Ginny rejoined their friends at the Lair. Blufeld and the other House Elves had made an Oasis, a protected patch, for them to be able to apparate back onto the balcony around the Lair without being seen from the outside. It was really dark by now, but who knew who might be watching.

The debate was still going strong, though it seemed obvious that many issues had already been resolved. The Hoard had discussed much of this over the months they had lived together and little had changed for most of them since then. The only difference was Ginny's offer to the younger ones, which seemed to have come as a relief to those old enough to go to Hogwarts.

"They can come stay with us when we're home," they said gleefully. "I think Belle has cousins in the Mendips so that's ok. She's too young to be left alone."

"I'm not!" Belle protested yawning widely.

Lucretia scooped her up in her arms saying fondly, "Bed for you, you fantastical beast." Belle giggled and squirmed before burying her head into Lucretia's armpit and yawning again while saying her good nights to everyone. Ron promised to come and tuck her in before she agreed to leave the room though, and Harry intercepted a fond glance from Hermione in Ron's direction when he wasn't looking. Harry suspected that Ron was going to make a fatastic father one day and maybe Hermione was having the same thought.

Harry reflected on everything that had happened. Suddenly life was back on track and the train speeding on out of the tunnel. All wonderful, but who'd have thought that he'd get a fiancee and a new family all in the space of a few short hours!


End file.
